Board favors buying new loader

WOODSTOCK – Selectmen Tuesday voted unanimously to set 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, as the time and date for a special town meeting. It’ll be held in the town office meeting room.

The one major article, following election of a moderator, will ask voters if they’ll appropriate $60,000 from the major highway equipment reserve to help pay for a new bucket loader.

The vote, if positive, could replace an earlier plan to buy a used loader. The first vote was taken at the March town meeting but since then selectmen learned it’s possible to buy a new machine with full warrantee for $10,000 more than they planned to spend.

Selectman Bruce Korhonen said, “We have found the price on a used machine is almost as much as a new one and we would have a machine that wouldn’t be any better than the 20-year-old machine we have now. Also, the new loader will have a three-year warrantee and, if it needs repairs, the company will provide us with another machine for no charge. This is a good deal and we would be much better off going new instead of used.”

Chairwoman Judy Bennett added, “This is a deal that just seemed to drop into our laps from Beauregard Equipment and it seemed to make sense to all of us.”

Explaining the offer in detail, Town Manager/Road Commissioner Vern Maxfield said the new loader totals $103,600. The plan is to pay the $60,000 down and trade the old machine for $20,000, bringing this year’s total to $80,000. After that the town will pay $6,740.11 per year for the next four years.

“There would be no extra money raised at the special town meeting,” said Maxfield, “we would just be obligated to raise the amount of the annual payment over the next four years.”

In other business, the board elected Maxfield to serve as election warden for the June 13 primary election and SAD 44 school budget vote. Poles will be open on that date from 8 a.m to 8 p.m.